Traveling Soldier
by mistress charge
Summary: There is a war in the West and the East has answered the call for help even when none was given to them. Draco has signed up to help even with people thinking he was still for the dark. The day before he leaves though he gets some comfort from the least likely to ease his stress.
1. Traveling Soldier

_I was thinking of making this a story of Draco and Hermione being muggles. That the cast was pretty much muggles caught up in the war. Of course it would mainly be about Hermione and Draco. At the last second I decided to change it for some reason. I'm not sure. Let me know what you guys would think and I might redo the chapter or the story to fit that profile. Thank you for reading!_

It was a bright and beautiful day within the small wizarding town. There were birds singing, children running through the streets and people doing their shopping. Draco walked up the street, his gray eyes flickering from store to store, from face to face. He was going to miss this. There was doubt in his mind but he couldn't chicken out now. He owed it to the wizarding community that he was a part of. They would see him in a different light. Well some would any way; they all wouldn't see him as a dark wizard anymore. They would see him as a man of the good side, a man that wanted peace, to have the world as it was now. It was sad really. Draco didn't want to have anything to do with another man's war but he had to show himself a savior or they would all think him chicken or that he had not renounced his way of the dark. After all, there were so many that had already gone to fight the battle over in the West. Draco heaved a sigh as he straightened his robes. He was to leave soon and he couldn't stand having his mother tear up and beg him to stay. To tell him it'd be okay for him to just stay at the house. He had apologized to her on many occasions and after the third time of seeing his mother cry that morning he decided he would leave earlier than what he was originally going to. He had kissed his mother and hugged her and received a hug and a hand shake from his father before he went off to Diagon Alley.

Draco came upon a shop on the right and pulled the door open. He looked around and took in a deep breath. He would need to eat so that he wouldn't hear his stomach going insane for the next few hours. Draco took a few steps in and then sat at a small table for two and picked up a menu. His eyes glanced over the foods that were offered and looked up only when he heard someone approach his table. He went to smile and found he really couldn't. Bad things just went through his head, all the things he could have changed and made better were rushing through his mind. Draco saw her offer a smile and he managed to return a shy one of his own. At least she wasn't cursing him out of the building. But she still looked good, from her bushy brown hair, to her brown eyes all the way to her curvy body. Then she spoke, "What can I get for you?" Draco found his mouth dry a bit and he looked back at his menu. "I think a pumpkin juice to drink." He watched Hermione write it down her eyes looked into his when she had gotten it down. "And I think a sandwich will be good, you choose which one." He said with a smile. Hermione laughed and gave a nod. "I think I can do that."

Draco watched as the woman had left him to the table on his own before bringing his pumpkin juice to him. He loved this and hoped that they would have it where he was going. It would be a sad day when it wasn't there and ready to be drank. As Hermione had turned around to fetch his sandwich he quickly cleared his throat and started a bit nervously. "W-would you like to sit with me? And talking?" Hermione looked him over. This was a surprise all together. Getting an order from him was nothing with any comments, just pure politeness. Though as he sat there and stared at her she looked into his gray eyes, she saw no hate. He just seemed a little sad and wanting a bit of company. After so much hate that came from him in the earlier years, it all seemed to go away. He just seemed to have let it all go and was turning a new leaf. Now she had heard rumors that Draco was going off to the West to help in a war that was of none of their business. And what was worse was Harry and Ron were doing the same thing. All of them repeating, ''we needed help and it was never given to us, they need help so we will be the kinder of the two." Hermione took in a deep breath and smiled. "Give me about ten minutes and I know somewhere we can go." Draco stared at her and gave a nod.

Hermione had left Diagon Alley with Draco. She had taken him off towards a bit of water, somewhere near the woods. It would be quiet and no one would be able to disturb them. Hermione had picked a spot by the water and pulled her shoes and socks off sticking her feet in. She watched as Draco did the same, his elbows resting upon his knees as he stared out at the beautiful water. It was so peaceful and quiet, if only he could stay here. "So is it true?" Hermione asked as she looked over at him. Draco made a small face and gave a nod. "I leave in a few hours." He said in a whisper. Hermione watched as Draco took in a deep breath. "I couldn't fight my own wars and here I am ready to go and fight somebody else's." Hermione gave a hint of smile. "And we are all very proud of you Draco." His head turned to her and he shook his head. "No, most still think that I am a part of the Dark side. They don't see that I changed my way. Of course why should they? I changed right at the end of the war, no one got to know that." Hermione reached over and lightly took ahold of his hand. "We all saw it Draco. Some may not trust you. But others do." Her eyes looked into his gray ones. He felt her squeeze his hand reassuringly. Why was she here to comfort him? Why was she so forgiving after what his aunt had done? "I'm sorry for all I had put you through in school." He finally managed out. Hermione gave a small laugh. "It's okay; it's all in the past." She said softly.

Hermione looked him over and Draco looked back over the water. It was beautiful and he knew he would miss all of this soon. It would not be the same over there and he knew that his mother and his father would write him constantly. Draco took in a deep breath and bit his lip. It took a moment of debate before he managed to get his voice to work. "Hermione, I know you and Ron are a thing. But do you mind if I write to you while I am away. I have no one else to except for my parents." Hermione looked taken aback by two parts of this. "I am not with Ron, but yes you can write me while you are away." Draco gave a grateful smile. This was great for him. He would have contact with somebody. "And you will write back?" He asked softly. Of course it was okay if she didn't. He just wanted to have someone that he could write to other than his mother. "Of course I will write back to you Draco. You are doing a brave thing and no one can judge you for it. You are going to help many people and you are going to risk your life for these people when they wouldn't risk theirs by helping us." Draco felt her hand squeeze his and he couldn't help but smile more when he turned to look at her and saw a smile being returned. He had made sure to take a mental picture of her. He knew times would be hard and he would need something like this to make it easier and to escape from everything.

Time passed nearly way too quickly for the young Malfoy. It had been wonderful spending what few hours he had left here with Hermione, talking of what they had been doing since they got out of school, what Hermione was going to be doing while all of this went on and just random other things. They had put their socks and shoes back on and stood up. Draco was looking at his watch when he felt her lips press against his cheek. He gave a small blush and a smile to go along with it. She smiled at him. "I'll write you. I promise." Draco gave a nod and with a blush still on his cheeks left the lake side. He had instead appeared at a designated point so those that were leaving to help the fight in the West would arrive in the proper positions. He heard men calling out different names and different places and Draco took in a deep breath as he started working his way through the crowd to figure out where he would be placed and where he would be going.

Hermione watched the place that Draco had disappeared from. In such a short time she had felt herself feeling attached to the young Malfoy. What had happened? She gave a sad smile at the last glimpse of him. She begged that he would be ok, that nothing went wrong and all was safe. She hated that nearly every man she knew was leaving to go and fight in the west. She would await his letter. Hermione looked at her hand and had wished that he was still there holding onto it like they had for the last hour. She made a promise that she would not hold another hand except for his, and hoped that he had made the same promise.

_(So what did you guys think? It seems like I should put more into the chapter though I think it will all be filled out in later chapters. Please feel free to give me reviews. Thank you!)_


	2. Draco's Letter

_(Since there weren't any reviews I will carry on with the story as it is. Thank you for all likes, follows and reviews.)_

The weather was nothing like his part of the world. For one he did not have to deal with it being so hot, nor did he have to worry about the sun as much. He was sure that rain would come soon. He just never knew when. Considering that the temperatures were reaching in the hundreds and that there was never even a cloud in the sky to tease him with rain it had been nearly miserable. Draco was located in Texas, the land of the dry and farm land as far as he could tell. It was like he had walked into hell. He and many others were being briefed on things that were going on in the war over in the United States and what different laws they had here. The war with the Dark seemed along the same lines of what happened over on his side. Muggles were being killed at large and different cities had been under attack. This dark side meant business and they were quickly gaining followers. Supposedly, the odds against them were great and every day they lost more and more men that had come to fight for their ways. It was sad to think about since he had already been through this only a couple years ago. The good thing to this is he was given permission to write to Hermione. He didn't know if he could go through this with only the support of his mother and father, even if it was to clear their name from everything that happened in the time of The Dark Lord. Thankfully though in Texas the evenings weren't as bad as the days and they were much more bearable.

At this point Draco had left everyone he was with inside as he found himself a place under a tree and began to set up his ink well and parchment. He had already received a letter from his parents both wishing for the best of him and he had held off on sending one to Hermione right away unsure if she would think it was all too fast. So far though she was what kept his head in this. Draco pulled a quill out and dipped his quill into the ink before thinking for a moment and began to write to her.

_Dear Hermione,_

_ I apologize for not writing to you right away, I was afraid you'd see it as hassle if I was to write you too much and too soon. I would hate to take up any of your time with useless words. I want to thank you for letting me write to you. I would hate it if I was stuck here writing to just my mother and my father. Yes, it is great to hear from them and have the support from them, though it would be nice to have it from somebody else and you were so kind to me on the day I was leaving. You have been kinder than anyone has been to me in a while. _

_ I can't say where I am exactly but let me tell you it is nothing like home. It is blazing hot here and there is nothing but land upon land as far as the eye can see. I guess it's good considering we don't need Muggles seeing us practicing for what we are soon to go up against. I won't lie; I am scared out of my mind. I was scared to fight the war on our homeland and scared to fight for what we thought was right. So to come here and fight for someone else on a different piece of land but for the same reason is quite strange. I am not sure if I am cut out to do this but I have to make everyone see that I am not for the Dark. I was raised in a house where things like that were expected and I have renounced the way I was before, as has my family. I hope this will let everyone see that we are done with the Dark and want more of the Light. _

_ I do want to apologize for how I treated you all the way through school. I know it was wrong and I was a selfless prat who wanted to be top dog in school. Then again I expected it considering my family's status in the wizarding world. I wish I could take it all back and have things change between us. I am glad that you were able to forgive me and I wish that all could have a heart like yours. I guess it's that that has me out here risking everything and doing what must be done. _

_ I can't send too many letters sadly because we can't have owls flying in and out of here constantly and they do check what we end up writing to make sure no one is letting information leak. But they will bring back all the letters we have at least once a week while we are here. I don't know what the next step is but I hope I can still write to you, to keep my spirits up. _

_ I kind of wish you were here. I can imagine you'd already be up to speed and they'd have you at the top of the ranks due to your knowledge. They are teaching us many new things here in the United States, laws, fighting styles and random things that they insist need to be known. They tell me that they even have Muggles fighting in this war and since we might end up disarmed these Muggles know how to work with weapons and use hand to hand. I will say it is tiring to learn all of this but at the same time it seems fascinating. _

_ I apologize for my random rants. I hope you are well. Again I won't fill you with a bunch of letters but I will be happy to send you a letter once in a while. I thank you again for letting me write to you and I hope I get to see you soon. _

_ Draco_

Draco looked over the letter and stared at the parchment for a while. He didn't seem to like it very much but couldn't figure out what to write. What was he supposed to say? That he missed her? That he could only think of her beautiful smile? That was insane. He gave the letter a small smile as he stood up from the grass and picked up the ink well and closed it. Draco rolled the parchment off and with a wave of his wand sealed it off. He knew that the letter would be read by someone other than Hermione just to make sure there wasn't a leak and he had no problem with it. He gave a bit of a smile as he thought of the bushy brown haired woman. He hoped it would all be over soon so he could see it once more.

He started back towards the house he'd have to set this in a box before he went to bed so that it could be sent out at morning. He couldn't wait for Hermione to return a letter to him. He hoped above all other things that she would spare some time and get back to him quickly. Draco couldn't help but perk up as he walked into the house. Things would be alright. He would end up going home soon and be back with his family and in his home.


End file.
